Three changes were made to Racing Louisville’s setup on Saturday ahead of the group stage finale of the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup, an 8 p.m. ET tilt at Kansas City.
With head coach Kim Björkegren still in Louisville because of an illness, assistant coach Bev Yanez steps into the acting head coach role and will lead Racing into tonight’s game. She’ll have a familiar face back in the starting lineup, with veteran defender Abby Erceg in the mix after missing last week’s game at Houston with a sore knee.
Erceg will start with the captain’s arm band – club captain and defensive midfielder Jaelin Howell opens the game on the bench after picking up a knock this week in training. Recent National Team Replacement Player signing Taylor Aylmer moves into the lineup in Howell’s place.
There’s a lot at stake tonight: Racing (4-1-0, 12 points) is two points ahead of KC (3-1-1, 10 points) in the Challenge Cup Central Division standings, so a draw or win would clinch first place in their group for Louisville. A KC win would nudge the Current into first and Racing into the best-finishing second-place team among the three Challenge Cup groups.
Beyond that, Racing can also clinch a home game at Lynn Family Stadium in the Sept. 6 Challenge Cup semifinals or, with help from results elsewhere, Racing can even win home-field advantage throughout the Cup’s knockout stage.
The game will be streamed on Paramount+.
Erceg’s return gives Racing its regular defensive line, including left back Carson Pickett, right back Lauren Milliet and center back Elli Pikkujämsä. That quartet will start its sixth game together this season.
Jordan Baggett and Kayla Fischer will start their fifth straight match together in Racing’s midfield alongside Aylmer, who has previously made one appearance for Louisville. The 24-year-old Aylmer is no newbie to the Challenge Cup or NWSL action, though: She spent previous years with NY/NY Gotham and won the NWSL championship alongside Baggett with the Washington Spirit, coming on as a substitute in the 2021 title match at Lynn Family Stadium.
Up front, Paige Monaghan (four goals, two assists this year) heads up the charge, paired with Kirsten Davis and Parker Goins. Monaghan is the only field player for Racing to start every Challenge Cup group stage game and has a goal and two assists in the competition. She and Erceg were recently named to the NWSL’s Best XI for July.
Goalkeeper Katie Lund will make her 43rd consecutive start across all competitions for Racing, with three shutouts in this year’s Challenge Cup. She is the only player on the team to have played every minute of the Challenge Cup this season, and no NWSL player has played more minutes in all competitions than Lund, who has been on the field for 1,800 minutes.
Jordyn Bloomer (D-45, back) and Jess McDonald (maternity) were previously listed as out on the player availability report, while Julia Lester (excused absence) and Hillary Beall (illness) were added to the report for today’s game.
Savannah DeMelo (USA), Uchenna Kanu (Nigeria), Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa) and Alex Chidiac (Australia) are all still playing in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, while Ary Borges and Wang Shuang are no longer competing in the World Cup but are not yet back in Louisville.
Racing Team Sheet at Kansas City
1 – Katie Lund
16 – Carson Pickett
20 – Abby Erceg (c)
4 – Elli Pikkujämsä
2 – Lauren Milliet
26 – Taylor Aylmer
19 – Jordan Baggett
9 – Kayla Fischer
5 – Paige Monaghan
22 – Kirsten Davis
21 – Parker Goins
Substitutes: 99 – Olivia Sekany; 3 – Zaneta Wyne, 6 – Jaelin Howell, 10 – Nadia Nadim, 12 – Ella Shamburger, 13 – Emina Ekic, 17 – Maddie Pokorny, 25 – Rebecca Holloway, 31 – Riley Parker
